We're All Friends Here Right?
by HospitalHorror
Summary: this is a fic based on ABC Families new show not so new anymore season finalie is soon Greek which i am madly in love withfurther summary inside
1. Dinner

Title: We're All Friends Here Right?

Series: part One

Rating: PG-13 (language lovies)

Pairing/Characters: Casey/Evan, Ashleigh/OC, Rusty/Jen K., Cappie/Rebecca (shudders had too)

Notes/Disclaimers/Summary: I decided that i really wanted a shouting match between Cappie and Evan, where their true colors are reviled and all that built up frustration is let out. But how was i going to do that? Then after watching last weeks episode and seeing next weeks trailer i got the perfect idea! wh000t wh00t read on to see my secrets. some may find this spoiling so i have warned you please tell me what you think...if i get enough love i'll write more to this (which i have stored up in my brain) giggle snort

Cappie twirled the ring about his middle finger subconsciously as he fidgeted in his chair. How had he ended up here in this upscale restaurant, in dress pants and a button down shirt, sitting across from Rusty and Jen K, Ashleigh and her guy of the moment and lastly but most painfully Evan and Casey. Then he felt the small, slim hand tracing small hearts on his leg. Rebecca. How could he forget her? It just wasn't possible, but then again when Casey was around anything could happen. Well happen to him at least, she had always had that affect on him and this past year was just proving his point. He watched her now as she tried to act like she was interested in what Ashleigh's date was saying, she had her "I'm not really that into what you're talking about but I'll be polite and listen" expression on as the guy launched into a breathy explanation of some quantum physics theory. Cappie could feel his eyes sliding into cross-eyedness and to prevent from making a complete ass of himself (he had miraculously not so far) took to looking around the table, trying to read everyone. People had always been Casey's thing but lately he had been tuned into others emotions than his own.

First there was Ashleigh and Erik (Cappie had finally bothered to pay attention long enough to find out the guys name) Ash looked just as board as Casey but wasn't trying as hard to hide it while Erik continued to blab, then Rusty and Jen K at one end of the table, nuzzling each other like they were the only people in the room which caused Cappie's heart to skip a beat. They felt too familiar for Cappie's comfort, too much like a couple that used to ignore all else when they were together, Cappie dared another glance at Casey. She appeared to be doing her best to ignore him while Evan couldn't seem to keep his eyes off him. Cappie sensed that he was waiting for a reason to call him out on any little slip up. This pissed Cappie off, even more than the stupid shirt he had been forced into wearing, even more than just being around Evan did. He decided that Evan should be included in his misery seeing as it was partially his fault Cappie felt shitty. Looping one arm easily about Rebecca's shoulder, Cappie pulled her in closer to himself, grinning full tilt as Evan's eyes turned to slits. The grin melted off his face as Evan smiled evilly and tugged Casey into a surprise lip lock, it took all Cappie's self control to keep from punching that smug look off Evan's face as he pulled back from Casey. The kiss was followed by an awkward silence in which Cappie realized that he was at least grateful Erik had shut up, though the angry monster in his chest was now busy screaming for Evan's blood. The same way it had when Cappie found out who it was Casey had left him for and when he found out what Evan had done to Casey. His little "moment of doubt"ﾝ as she put it, but Cappie didn't buy it, funny though how he was now sitting next to that same girl Evan had cheated with and she was gazing up at him fondly. The way Casey once had and for the second time that night, Cappie's heart missed a beat, much to his discomfort. The whole thing was pretty damn ironic then again Cappie loved irony. Loved it when it didn't pertain to him, to his life but lately it had and all that did was make him want to give it the finger. He settled on giving it to Evan instead when Casey's head was turned and Evan, being the mature Omega Chi that he was stuck out his tongue, which just made Cappie want to laugh. He didn't though because that would have shown Evan that he won, and the battle was yet to be fought.

Ashleigh stood up then, the exasperated look on her face evidently clear.

"Right, well sorry to interrupt but I really have to use the restroom. Powder up y'know, Case you coming?"

Casey looked revived as if she could want nothing better than to escape the tension at the table. She must have kicked Jen, for she let out a little 'ow!' and grudgingly got up from the table but not before planting a long kiss on Rusty. Cappie grinned at his dreamy look and airy goodbye. Rebecca probably didn't want to be the odd one out so she too followed the other girls to the bathroom, kissing Cappie swiftly before she exited. All boys smiled after them until they were out of sight, then Evan rounded on Cappie.

"Think you're pretty smart don't you? Like I won't see what your trying to pull."ﾝ He spat again glaring heartily at Cappie.

"Typical Evan ladies and gentlemen," Cappie retorted lounging back in his chair, two of its legs off the ground so he teetered dangerously, "Always jumping to conclusions, letting the smallest things get to him. Tut tut Evan! I thought you had learned by now, president of Omega Chi and all."ﾝ

"Oh so now you're going to try and tell me that you're with Rebecca because you _love_ her, not just because you want to get Casey back for what she did to you!"

"Why Evan! How could I stoop so low?"ﾝ He placed a hand over his heart as if Evan had fatally wounded him, "That's _your _specialty not mine. You know running around with _pledges,_ having wild escapades at night, all for shits and giggles then? Casey doesn't really meant anything to you does she if you're willing to go fuck it up for a fling."

Evan looked livid, Erik sat watching with his jaw on the floor, Rusty looking torn between jumping into the fight and letting it play out. Cappie still sat in his chair, seemingly unfazed.

"You're one to talk _Crappie_, seeing as your now here with the girl that helped hurt Casey-"

"Helped?"ﾝ Cappie was getting mad now; he let the chair fall back on all four legs as he leaned across the table towards Evan. "Helped? Are you kidding me! Did you even bother to tell Rebecca you had a girlfriend? Or did it not get brought up when you were taking off her bra!"

"You shut your mouth! You're just pissed cause Casey dropped you as soon as she realized she wouldn't get anywhere in life while dating an overgrown five year old!"

"At least that over grown five year old wouldn't ever have dreamed of cheating when he had a goddess waiting back at his house for him! I never hurt Casey and that's what gets to you Evan, the fact that even though she thought me immature and ridiculous at times, the whole while we were going out I never even once looked at another girl."ﾝ

"AT TIMES? She said you were the worst thing that could have happened to her! Said she was lucky her ZBZ sisters could forgive and forget."

"HA! Shows how much you know Casey, the real Casey. She might not admit it but when she was with me we were _happy_, we had _fun_ are you familiar with the word? It's when you go out and do stuff besides have serious talks about serious matters and how serious you are about your serious future together. Have you guys done any of that, have you gone and protested protests while stuffing your face with strawberry pie? Have you just stayed up late to watch her sleep then held her close in the morning, swearing you'd never let her go?"

"See Cappie this is why I always win, you dwell on the past while the rest of us are up here in the present. Casey's out grown those habits, outgrown you. With me she has a future and a plan, does it hurt that when you really think about it you realize she's better off with me. Someone who can and will be something more than the Kappa Tau president for the rest of his life!"ﾝ

"You guys please." Rusty squeaked before Cappie could open his mouth to reply, "The waiter is coming over, people are staring"ﾝ As he spoke their middle aged waiter approached the table, eyeing them all in disgust.

"Is there a problem sirs?"

"LEAVE IT!" Evan and Cappie roared, the waiter looked scandalized, turned on his heel and stalked off his nose in the air.

"That the best you've go Chambers? To make remarks about how I'm dedicated to my fraternity, well you can shove your wealth and privileges right up your-"

"That's barely the half of it! You're pathetic, a loser, ask anyone they'll admit it. All you're good for is throwing parties and going to AA meetings! I have the one thing you've ever wanted and you think by bringing that girl here that I'll just throw up my hands and say, 'oh Cappie you're right, I don't deserve Casey here take her and I'll have the little tramp!' Yeah _Cap_ that's exactly what's going to happen, **GROW UP!**"

Rusty barely had time to grab the back of Cappie's shirt before he lunged across the table at Evan. "I'll kill you! Take it back! All of it you sick, twisted fu-"

"What is this?"ﾝ Came a calm, cool voice from behind Rusty. Casey. "Rusty let go of Cappie and all of you _**sit.**_"ﾝ

She wasn't yelling but she might have well been, Cappie and Evan exchanged glares then sat, Rusty let go of Cappie's shirt collar and flopped into his chair the expression on his face saying full well he knew what was coming.

"Now then, are we all going to talk this out like adults or do each of you need a timeout?"ﾝ All the boys shook their heads, eyes still glued to the table. "Good, so what was all this yelling about?" Casey asked taking her sit next to Evan.

"Nothing." Came the mumbled reply.

"That's a lie if I've ever heard one. Rusty, what really happened?"ﾝ Cappie and Evan's heads shot up and they looked fiercely at Rusty, as if daring him to tell the truth.

"Uh ummm uh,"ﾝ Rusty stammered looking between his sister and the pair shooting him murderous glares, "They just got into a figh- I mean argument about which house was better, Kappa Tau or Omega Chi, I guess they got a little into it and all."

His voice trailed off as he started to fidget under the intense looks he was receiving.

"Well," Casey still looked a little skeptical but then she relax, "In that case you guys know better than to discuss houses alone. The whole restaurant, scratch that, the whole neighborhood could hear you guys."

Cappie and Evan grinned sheepishly and Rusty felt a great rush of relief, luckily Erik knew enough to keep his mouth shut. The girls all sat down and the waiter reappeared, eyeing them all cautiously then took their orders. There were no more shouting matches during the rest of the night but an awkward feel hung over the heads of all, even after they had gone their separate ways.


	2. Aftermath

"I can't believe the nerve of Chambers! Ranting on like that, he can take shots at me, I could care less, but going after Rebecca and Casey is unacceptable. His own girlfriend for Christ's sake!" Rusty sat on the edge of Cappie's bed, eyes cast down on the floor trying to look anywhere but at the older boy in front of him. He had decided long ago that it was better to let Cappie rant than to try and give his input.

"Who does he think he is?! God or something, because he's far from it! Lucky thing you were there or else his face wouldn't be feeling right for weeks." Rusty couldn't hold his silence anymore.

"Lucky for you that _I_ was there Cappie."

"What are you saying Spitter, that I can't take care of my self?" He had stopped pacing and was standing inches away from Rusty now, murder in his blue eyes. Rusty realized that he should have thought before speaking, he gulped. Time to fix it.

"No Cap that's not it, I just meant that, uh, you were lucky I was there because, uh, what would Casey have thought if she saw you punching Evan's face in?" Cappie still looked pissed, "What with you trying to win her back and all…"

"Shhh Spitter! Rebecca's in the shower, I don't want her to hear you besides," He flopped down in the chair by his desk, his head in his hands, "It's not like it would change her mind anyway. She's moved on, so why can't I?"

Rusty didn't know what to say, he felt guilty even though Cappie's pain wasn't really his fault and still he felt responsible. Why hadn't he been able to talk some sense into Casey? Maybe if she had actually told people about him things would have been different.

"Why did she leave me Spitter?" Cappie's words were barely above a whisper. "I treated her like a princess, the way she deserved to be treated. Not like some showcase trophy the way Evan does and still I lost her to that dick, am I missing something Russ?"

Cappie looked up then and Rusty could see the fat tears rolling down his cheeks, the hurt and confusion in his eyes. He could barely contain himself; he had never seen his Big Brother like this. So vulnerable, so scared and alone when he was supposed to be the strong one with all the answers. Rusty realized then that maybe all the jokes and partying were a way for Cappie to hide his grief, his heartache. There was an awkward tension between the two and the silence hanging between them wasn't helping. Rusty wanted so bad to have something to say, some words to ease the damage but they were difficult to find. He crossed the room to where Cappie sat listlessly and dropped to his knees where he could look directly into his eyes, still all he could muster was;

"No Cap, she hurt you. She should be the one feeling guilty, I hate seeing you like this, it just isn't right. You have Rebecca now Cap, please for my sake focus on her, I don't know for how much longer I can sit around watching you waste away." And before Cappie could respond, Rusty had thrown his arms about the older boy, burying his head in the crook of Cappie's neck. "I'm sorry she hurt you, I'm sorry I couldn't help…I just…didn't know what to do." Came his muffled wail. Cappie, quite taken aback by this sudden turn of roles wrapped his strong arms about his Little Brother and rested his chin on the top of his head.

"You haven't ever done anything wrong Spitter, you've done quite the opposite. You have always been on my team right from the start and that's one of the things I like most about you." All that Rusty could do was sniff as he wiped his own tears on Cappie's shirt, still not ready yet to break the embrace. Neither was. A soft cough from the bathroom doorway caused the pair to spring apart, boys weren't supposed to be vulnerable, no one should have seen this exchange.

"Am I interrupting something?" Rebecca asked, the soft light from the bathroom creating a hazy glow about her frame in the doorway. Rusty thought she looked beautiful, but maybe that was because she was only wrapped in a towel. He blushed at his thoughts and shuffled slightly, Cappie had hastily wiped his eyes and was now starting at Rebecca, something in his eyes that Rusty couldn't quite place.

"No Rebecca you weren't," he said smoothly, "Spitter needed someone to talk to. He was just leaving." He turned to Rusty.

"Right, yeah. Bye Becca, Cap will you call me later?" He smiled up at his Big Brother and turned to leave, Cappie caught his arm and pulled him into another hug, this one briefer than it predecessor.

"Sure thing Spitter, tell Jen "Hi" for me."

"Will do." And with that Rusty was gone, the door thudding softly shut behind him.

Rebecca watched Cappie for a second then crossed the room to him. Her hand went up to his cheek, stroking it softly while she searched his eyes for the cause of his tears.

"Why?" She whispered so delicately that he almost missed it. He gave a small shrug, a smile gracing his lips but not reaching his eyes.

"I've lived too much," He offered, "I've loved to hard and not been loved in return."

"Well start loving again because you are now."

Rebecca slipped her arms about Cappie's neck and pulled him closer to her, he tangled his fingers in her dark locks, still damp from the shower and their lips met. Gently at first then hungrily, Cappie's head spun as he took in all of her. She smelled of lavender and mint and her body seemed to mold to his, a perfect match. She was slim and delicate while he was strong and sturdy, she a politician's daughter, proper and straight edged when he was born to hypocritical hippies and couldn't even walk the straight line Rebecca made.

As Cappie held her he thought about how different she was from Casey, how she somehow was helping him heal the wounds he had always thought would be left open and bleeding. The wounds Casey had inflicted upon his heart. Holding her, Cappie realized that though he didn't really love Rebecca as of now, everything about her was something he could get used too, things that he _could_ grow to love.

XxXxX

"Evan?" Casey's voice was low as she stared out the car window into the dark of the night. "Tell me what that fight was about." She turned briefly to look him in the eyes, "Really about." Evan let out a long sigh and shifted uncomfortably,

"Come on Case, you know and you don't need me telling you."

"Then why fight about it at all Ev? You have me, you can claim that you won."

"It's more than that, me and Cappie go way back"

"I know Evan, I know." Casey turned again to look out the window, streetlights and houses zooming by, "I just don't understand." She whispered, not really to Evan, not even to herself, really just to the dark.

"We don't really understand it either," Now it was Evan's turn to talk to no one. "I mean we were best friends once, freshman year. I was so glad to have someone outgoing and party crazy as well as smart that I guess we just hit it off. Opposites attract you know? Cappie taught me so much, he's doing the same thing with Rusty, guiding him and all." He stopped talking for a moment to breath, as if recalling these old memories were taking something out of him. "I couldn't have asked for a better friend, then you came into the picture."

Evan glanced at Casey; she took his hand and intertwined their fingers, giving him a small smile. Letting him know she wanted him to continue.

"Man I haven't said any of this to anyone," He grinned nervously then continued, "From the moment I saw you I knew I had to make you mine. I don't think I really considered what it would do to me and cappie or maybe I just didn't care. So anyway I started to pursue you, at first when Cappie wasn't there then after awhile it didn't matter to me anymore because it seemed like you were returning the feelings."

Casey had to try hard not to take her hand out of Evan's. She felt dirty, unclean, a liar. She _had_ started returning the attention that Evan had been giving her but it was under false pretenses. She had still loved Cappie, but her sisters demanded her to drop him. Drop him and run to Evan, drop him and leave love. And she had obliged, she had run away from Cappie so fast that even if she had wanted to take another look she was too far gone. Casey had grown to love Evan; she had not fallen into it. As he had said Cappie and him were opposites, polar opposites not only in general but in love as well. Some days Casey awoke in a sweat her dreams of Cappie so real that she could have sworn she was waking up next to him in the Kappa Tau house not next to Evan in Omega Chi. Those days she had to force herself to remember what it was like to be with Evan, what it meant and what it would give her. Everything Casey Cartwright had ever done since joining ZBZ, was to benefit herself and her alone. Casey swallowed hard and tuned back into what Evan was saying.

"I called him his nickname today, the one I haven't used since we stopped talking. It caught him off guard Case, me as well. It just slipped and for a second I think he saw the truth in my eyes."

"What truth?" Casey pushed, she didn't want to be alone in the feeling of guilt.

"Nothing," Evan shook his head and smiled at her, giving her hand a little reassuring squeeze, "You wanna turn on the radio?"

Casey took this to mean that the subject was closed, she flicked on the radio and scanned for a station. Everything Is Alright filled the car and Casey closed her eyes, pressing her forehead to the cool glass. Letting the chill creep into her skin, reminding her that this was real, that this was her life.

Evan stared straight ahead, the words from the radio weighting on his thoughts. Regret was what had been in his eyes. He did love Casey but losing Cappie had hurt, betraying him had hurt, lying to him had hurt. These past two years spent full of arguments and harsh words were affecting Evan, he didn't want them but they were necessary to uphold his image. Image. He loathed the word and all it meant for him. It had cause too much pain on all sides of the court, it had an impact on everyone and everything Evan had ever loved.

The couple still held hands, but the bone and flesh connecting them physically stopped there as the night carried on. Forgetting about each other they dwelled on old memories of a certain boy who touched the lives of all those he had ever met. Whether intentional or not Cappie seemed to have everyone wrapped about his finger and it was just now that Evan and Casey had realized it. Realized and were beginning to come to terms with what it meant for them.


End file.
